The Evillustrator
by RicochetXD
Summary: Nathanael is having a bad day. After openly being mocked by Chloe in class, Nath doesn't think that he's ever going to have a shot with Marinette. But helpful old Hawk Moth is going to give him a chance. And this is one deal that Nathanael has to take. Prequel to the Fox and His Lady. Evillustrator episode.


" _Help!" Marinette screamed, running down the hall._

 _Stormy Weather laughed and advanced, her umbrella low to the ground._

 _Marinette heard a noise, skidding to a halt as she spotted Lady Wifi in front of her._

 _Her heart beat fast and her eyes widened. She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips as she turned to run in a new direction._

 _She heard a sharp, digital noise right before she found herself unable to move. It was like her body had been hit on pause. She couldn't even blink her eyes._

 _Someone needed to save her._

 _Stormy Weather raised her umbrella, which fanned out and shot out a stream of ice, completely encasing Marinette._

 _Wifi and Stormy Weather approached each other with equally smug smiles, clasping hands in self-congratulation._

 _Just at that moment, Super Nathan arrived!_

I shook my head. That was a dumb name. Super Nathan?

I rubbed the eraser against my forehead, biting the inner part of my cheek.

I guessed I could always fix it later, right? Super Nathan it was.

 _Super Nathan laughed, twirling his stencil and bringing it down on his tablet, using his left hand._

 _Stormy Weather reacted instantly, fanning open her umbrella, blue, crystalline energy charging at the tip._

No. I really wasn't sold with the name.

I could come up with something better, right?

The Artist?

Nah.

Super Artist?

Even worse.

I sighed in frustration, leaning over my drawing. I guessed I could use "Super Nathan" temporarily, just until I came up with something better.

 _Super Nathan reacted quickly, pointing at the umbrella with his stencil and it appeared on the tablet screen. He then proceeded to erase it quickly._

 _The umbrella disappeared in real life at the same time, leaving Wifi and Stormy Weather absolutely stunned. Wifi stepped forward, getting her phone ready to attack, but Super Nathan was prepared for that._

 _Spinning his stencil once, he constructed a glass box for the two, then erased the ice encasing the love of his life._

 _Marinette blinked in surprise, then clasped her hands together, looking at the superhero with adoration._

" _Oh, Super Nathan-"_

That. Name. Was. So. Dumb.

I grabbed a handful of my hair with one hand, clenching it tight as I glared down at the page.

The problem was, I couldn't think of anything better.

" _Oh, Super Nathan," Marinette said, her voice soft and sweet. "You're my hero!" she ran towards him, putting her hands on his chest and snuggling up close to him._

" _It was nothing," Super Nathan said cooly, putting his hands on her shoulders._

" _I_ love _you!" Marinette emphasized, smiling at him._

" _I love you too, Marinette," Super Nathan said, smiling at his girlfriend._

"Nathanael!" a voice suddenly jolted me back to reality. A hand slapped down on the desk and I dropped my pen. "What are you drawing?"

I looked up into the angry face of Ms. Mendeleieve.

"Wha-Wha," I tried to speak and she picked up my paper.

"These artistic endeavors are clearly why you're failing science!" she exclaimed.

I was failing science? I knew I wasn't the top of the class, but failing? I glanced away for a moment, unable to meet her gaze. I looked back at her, a slight flush on my cheeks. "I'm… sorry?" I said.

"You march yourself down to the principal's office!" she said and I gathered my books quickly into my bag. "And show him that chicken scratch!" she added.

A flare of resentment rose up inside me as I put away my pen.

It wasn't chicken scratch! I…

"Then you'll be _really_ sorry!" the teacher said.

I already said I was sorry. Why did she have to rub in that I messed up?

I was walking so quickly, my book bag against my chest, that I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking.

When I reached Chloe's desk, my foot caught on something and I fell over, a small noise of startlement escaping my lips as I felt something leave my arms.

I felt Ms. Mendeleieve grab the collar of my shirt, pulling me back up to my feet as a hand snatched my sketchbook off the floor.

"Ooo," I heard Chloe's voice say suddenly in a mocking tone of voice. "Look Sabrina! It's him, as a superhero. And look who he's saving!" I glanced over in horror to see she had my sketchbook, open to the pages I had just drawn. "It's Marinette!" she announced loud enough that the whole class heard.

How _dare_ she?

My cheeks burned hot and my stomach began to turn..

"He's so totally crushing on you Marinette!" Chloe said and I managed to snatch the sketchbook from her.

"Give me that!"

"Enough!" Ms. Mendeleive said, then pointed. "Nathanael, go!"

I rushed out of the room, unable to do anything else.

I slammed the door behind me and stood there a minute, breathing hard.

I could feel a panic attack coming on.

After being embarrassed like that…

After being outed like that in front of my crush…

She wasn't supposed to know…

I shook my head and kept walking.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing, right?

Marinette knew now so…

Who was I kidding?

This was a disaster.

I heard a clatter behind me. I turned and knelt down to grab my pen. When I did, I noticed a dark purple, nearly black glow emulating from it.

As I picked it up, a strange feeling came over me. One I could hardly describe.

" _Are you tired of having your creative spirit crushed?_ " a voice echoed in my head. " _Evillustrator, I'm your friend and patron of the arts. I'm here to offer you support._ " I looked around for the source of the voice, but saw nothing. " _But I don't give this kind of power for free. I have a couple of items that need retrieving._ "

I knew then who it was speaking to me.

Everyone in Paris knew.

Hawk Moth was offering to make me into an akuma, one of the supervillains.

For a moment, I resisted. Nothing good could come from this. He had nothing that I wanted I was…

I was humiliated by Chloe.

That's right. She'd humiliated me in front of my crush, who she often bullied, just like me.

Chloe was evil. More evil than Hawk Moth perhaps.

Besides, all akumas gained powers, right?

I didn't have to use them for him.

I could finally… become the superhero I wanted to be.

I could be Super Nathan!

…

I really hated that name.

"Just tell me what you want," I said aloud, though I could already probably guess it.

A tingling sensation started in my hand, travelling up my arm.

I nearly dropped my pen, letting out a small yelp as a glowing purple and black aura swept over me.

I instantly felt the power.

It was like a switch was being turned on inside me.

I could feel the difference.

And it felt good.

I flexed my fingers and examined myself. The suit I'd drawn in the comic was exactly what I was wearing, so Hawk Moth had held up to his part of the deal.

I needed to try this out.

But before that, the most important question. Did I want to stick with the name that Hawk Moth gave me?

Did I want to be the Evillustrator?

I paused.

Yes.

Yes I did.

It was certainly better than Super Nathan.


End file.
